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Side by side for a (possibly) record setting third time straight, co-hosts Erick Simpson and Rich Freeman report from the Ingram Micro Cloud Summit, debate going all in on one distributor, and break the rule against crying over spilled milk, or rather beer in this case.

The CEO of Technology Marketing Toolkit speaks with ChannelPro from the green room of her annual IT sales and marketing boot camp about MSP concerns, the importance of fundamentals, and the quest to raise $1 million for St. Jude Hospital for Children.

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Vendor Predictions for 2018, Part 2: AI, the Cloud, and (Inevitably) More on Security

In our second roundup of forecasts for 2018 from leading vendors, BitTitan, eSentire, Kaseya, Rackspace, Salesforce, SolarWinds, Sophos, and others chime in with thoughts on vertical cloud solutions, IT automation, GDPR enforcement, and more.

Turns out security isn’t the only topic vendors are making predictions about for 2018. Here are a few prognostications on cloud computing, IT automation, and artificial intelligence as well. Plus a few more on security, because who can resist?

Broadly speaking, most big-time cloud software and infrastructure vendors take an all-things-to-all-people approach to product development at present. 2018 will be the year they start tailoring their offerings to the needs of specific verticals, according to John Engates (pictured right), chief evangelist at managed cloud provider Rackspace.

“So many industry sectors have unique needs, demand certain capabilities, and must comply with various regulations that it was inevitable they would begin to seek not just multiple cloud platforms, but clouds tailored to their individual industry,” he says. “More cloud service providers—the smart ones, anyway—will create cloud offerings with industry-specific features, compliance requirements, and certification demands built in.”

“In 2017 we saw that cloud vendors started formulating industry-specific solutions in the healthcare, financial services, and retail sectors,” says Neeracha Taychakhoonavudh (pictured left), the company’s senior vice president of partner & industry innovation. “Many of these vertical markets still remain largely underserved and untapped—offering a significant opportunity for channel partners to capitalize on and specialize in those markets.”

She’s not kidding about the opportunity being significant either. IDC expects global cloud spending in the healthcare and financial services sectors to reach $10.64 billion and $4 billion, respectively, in 2018, and to grow at rates exceeding 20 percent.

See more in Vendor Predictions for 2018, Part 2: AI, the Cloud, and (Inevitably) More on Security:

Exhibits in the conference’s sprawling expo hall, including this IoT-enabled bus, provided concrete examples of the pre-packaged and outsourced offerings resellers can get from SYNNEX these days along with plain old hardware and software.

What’s now: A strong start for the company’s “Done Deal” program and the rise of specialized MSPs. What’s next: At least three acquisitions, a big RMM update with “disruptive” network management functionality…and quite possibly an IPO.

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With each issue packed full of powerful news, reviews, analysis, and advice targeting IT channel professionals, ChannelPro-SMB will help you cultivate your SMB customers and run your business more profitably.